Fateful Encounters

By Anonymous, Menlo Park, CA, CA

Image Credit: Beth S., Marblehead, MA

Do you believe that fate led you to a person? I remember it was the beginning of the new school year, and I was going to start 8th grade. I was nervous, and I didn’t feel like going to school. Even though, inside I felt like a little kid patiently waiting to open his present under the Christmas tree.

It was a cold morning, and I was shivering even though I was wearing a sweater. As I got closer and saw the school building, it was funny to me how it still looked like an old library with the surrounding air smelling like metal and charcoal. As I walked towards the entrance, I saw people I knew from the year before and started to talk about what we did on our summer vacation. As their conversation continued, I was thinking to myself about the new experiences and memories I would have this year, and it filled my heart up with warmness. “ Alice!.....Alice!!” I heard a familiar voice calling my name, and I snapped back into reality.

It was my friend Violet, she was greeting me from far away and still looked the same as always. As if that was the most happiest day of her life, she was running like the flash and seemed like she had a flock of fairies following her. “Hey, it feels like it’s been forever since I last saw you. How have you been?” she said. It was hard to hear her because the people around us, but I answered in a loud voice, “I know it’s been so long, but I’ve been doing good! How about you?”As she replied, we heard a noise that sounded like someone dropped a large stack of books on a desk. We were startled because of the noise, but as soon as the noise faded away she said,“I guess it’s time to line up.” We lined up on our homeroom number and saw our other friend Vanessa which looked like as if a tornado had passed by her. “ Hey….am I late?!” she said, we started to laugh and replied with laughs still pouring out of our mouths, “No... just in time!.”

Our teacher showed up, and we entered into the school’s hallway. We entered the room, and it smelled like as if we were in a forest filled with the most fragrant trees ever . The teacher began to talk,“okay class,pick a seat but choose a seat where you will be able to concentrate.” As I was looking around the room for a seat, I felt the desk aside from the teacher's desk calling my name. I sat down and took out my binder and pencils. I looked around and noticed all my classmates getting seated. The seat next to mine was empty and for a while I enjoyed the feel of an empty seat next to me although I also felt like something was missing, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. It felt as if someone was supposed to be there...sitting next me…, yet in reality it seemed like the vast emptiness of space.

While I was finishing getting seated, the teacher began a presentation to refresh our memories about the school rules but also to introduce himself to the kids who were new to the school. The presentation felt like it lasted years, and I felt myself slowly aging into an old woman, but the creak of the door opening rejuvenated my skin and body. I saw a girl coming into the class, and she seemed nervous as she looked around trying to find an open seat. “Can..I...sit here” she said in a nervous voice, “ Yeah go ahead” I replied, “ Thanks!” she said in a relieved tone. My first impression of her as she sat down next to me was she seemed like a quiet person. She had brown hair and eyes and looked like your average 13 year old. Although as she sat down and began unpacking, I couldn't understand why I felt like the vast emptiness from the seat was slowly residing with what seemed like the tide of the ocean.

The teacher finished the presentation and passed out worksheets that made the students interact with each other. “ Hey my name is Alice..nice to meet you” I said whispering. “Hi... my name is Lucy.. nice to meet you too” she said. We began talking about ourselves and answering each other's questions. “ Really! how was th-” she said but got cut off by the teacher who said we needed to pack up to go to our morning break.

As days and weeks passed by like clouds in the sky, Lucy and I became friends. I am glad I met her, and I know that even if we hadn’t talked or sat next to each other that day, we would still have become friends. I didn’t think in my whole life that I would make a new friend in my last year. I cherish these memories because they have taught me to open up to people because you never know what that person could mean to you in the future. We never know what fate might bring to us….

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